About Mt. Saipal

Mt. Saipal, with impressive 7,031 meter height from the sea level, Mount Saipal is an unexplored summit of Nepal and is second highest peak of the Far Western region. Located in the Himalayan range of north-west of the country, the mountain offers abundant thrill and wilderness to the adventure seekers. While the mountain may not be significant when it comes to its elevation level, it however is one of the most arduous to surmount and hence gives tricky tests even to the world’s most scrupulous summiteers. The pick sits gloriously some 1,000 kms far from the country’s capital, Kathmandu.

The history of Mount Saipal expedition dates back to 1953 when Austrian Dr Herbert Tichy first attempted to ascend the peak, but failed primarily due to lack of proper logistics. Next year, another Austrian citizen, Dr Rudolf Jonas, led an expedition to Saipal in spring season. The expedition became ill fated after a member of the team, Karl Reiss, died at the basecamp due to pneumonia. Only after a decade since the first attempt, Japanese duo Katsutoshi Hirabayashi and Pasang Phutar finally made to the top of the peak in on 21 October, 1963 from the south side. Encouraged by the success, few other expeditions were made in 1985 during when members of a Spanish expedition conquered the mountain, among others.

The story of success and failure followed. After the failed attempts from an Austrian and a Swiss climbers in 1987 and 1988 respectively, French national Jacques Montaz and a Nepali citizen Tendi Sherpa kept their feet on the summit on 25 October, 1990. Two days later, Kroll from Austria, Matthias Mross from Germany and Ang Choppel Sherpa from Nepali also walked up to the top successfully.

Adding up to the series, another successful attempt was made by a Japanese expedition team in 1998 and by a French national,Paulo Grober in 2010. This suggested that the peak has been attempted by a dozen of teams and individuals till date. However, even today, the mountain has not been able to fall under the preference list among the national and international mountaineers. Even when more than one million of foreign tourists come to Nepal, not even 0.5 percent of them visit the Saipal area, let alone climb it.

The long distance from Kathmandu to Bajhang, the home district of Mt Saipal, lack of proper trekking trail on the way, absence of necessary logistics and government’s mountaineering service system and non-existence necessary infrastructure like hotels and lodges are some of the factors that have made the peak virgin. This is the reason, why mountaineers from across the globe yearn to try their ascending skill in this pinnacle. While the peak is less crowded, the ascend from its southern part makes the expedition more adventurous, thrilling and memorable.

Besides Saipal as a mountain, it is also a center of civilization and religiosity. Myth has it that the mountain is the abode of Hindu Gods and Goddesses. The name Sapial, according to Hindu mythology, is named after Lord Bishnu as Mt Kailash is named after Lord Shiva. In the Hindu civilization, there are three major Gods-Brahma, Bishnu and Shiva-the Gods of creation, nurturing and destruction. The local people believe that as Mt Kailash is home to Lord Shiva, Mt Saipal, in the same manner is the residence of Lord Bishnu, who rests upon the lap of Sesnaag, a five headed holy Serpent God.

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National Expedition

Sangita Rokaya

Hobbies and passions: Mountaineering, trekking in higher altitude, social service etc.

Purpose of life: Want to be a change agent and be an icon for the discriminated women of her community and district.

Experience:

Mt. Saipal Base Camp (4100 meters) with Mission Saipal team.

Has trekked to different places of higher altitude of more than 5,000 mtrs like Namul, Challeban, Majaban and and Curekhola, among others to collect yarshagumba, one of the most sought herbs in Nepal that requires greater vigour adventure.

Ms Rokaya, who hails from the last village of Bajhang district, believes that her society is filled with superstition and women's status is very inferior and has not been able to develop themselves.

She, the eldest children to her parents, has three younger brothers and three younger sisters, making a total of seven children. Despite having many children, her parents have been really very supportive to her and encourage her to accept the challenges of climbing Mt. Saipal.

Ms Rokaya who knows the mountain very well due to the geographical proximity, wants to prove to her community people that women are in no way less than men and can achieve toughest of the feats with her ascend to Mt Saipal. After her return from the peak, she wants to continue with her education and conduct social works for the welfare of her society and help for the promotion of women of her locality in any ways she can.

She wants to be an instrumental in raising the curtain of new era in her community and be an agent of social change, such a change where and when people's perspective towards women will turn upside down; thereby women would be regarded as a compliment to the men but not someone inferior.

National Expedition

Laxmi Budha

Address: Kanda, Bajhang district

Date of Birth: May 24, 1991 (26 yrs)

Education: School Leaving Certificate (SLC)

Hobbies and passions: Experiencing mountains, social service

Purpose of Life

To be an agent of social change.

To stay atop on the Mt Everest.

Experience

A former People's Liberation Army (PLA) who sacrificed more than a decade of her late childhood struggling against the state for the rights of her countrymen.

Mt. Saipal Base Camp (4100 meters) with Mission Saipal team.

Trekked to base camp of Mt. Kanjirawa that is located in Jumla district.

Has trekked to different places of higher altitude of more than 5,000 mtrs like Paralkhet, Aulagadh (South Base Camp of Mt Saipal), Raidhunge (East South Base Camp of Mt. Saipal) among others to collect yarshagumba.

Ms Budha is a married lady and a mother to a four years old daughter who has recently been enrolled to a nearby boarding school in a play group. Her husband runs a grocery for livelihood, while Ms Budha wants to tell the world that her community (Saipal Rural Municipality) is a piece of the world, yet ignored by the state. Enriched with many medicinal herbs like yarshaguma, she feels sorry that her community people have been suffering in the absence of medical service in her area and people end up losing their lives even for very common diseases.

Her major motto to climb Mt Saipal is to introduce Mt Saipal to the nation and the entire world, for she holds a strong conviction that the promotion of the mountain is the easiest way to change the fate of her community and the district. She also wants to debunk the myth that women should not climb the mountain. Ms Budha is very convinced that her successful ascent to the summit would give raise to the degraded situation of the women of her locality.

She also believes that her successful climb would be in itself a big slap on the face of orthodox people who have victimized local women for many generations in the name of religion and culture. In the mean time, her husband has been strongly behind her in her mission. She also aims to continue her journey to the peaks of many other mountains to finally reach the top of Mount Everest, the world's tallest peak.

National Expedition

Pabitra Bohara

Address: Katai, Bajhang district

Date of Birth: April 16, 1998 (20 yrs)

Education: Bachelor's Level (BBS Second Year)

Hobbies and passions: Climbing mountains, study etc

Purpose of Life

Making a name and fame as a mountaineer.

Experience

Mt. Saipal Base Camp (4100 meters) with Mission Saipal team.

Every year, since she was seven years old treks to different places (5,000 + meters) to collect yarsha gumba.

Ms Bohora lives with her mother, one younger sister and three younger brothers while her father passed away when she was only 13 years old. Since the death her father, she including her family has experienced many ups and downs especially those relating to economy. In a remote far western district, a family with head of it (father) is considered an unfulfilled family and is ignored from the society.

Children from such family lacks the guide to their lives and are left ignored eventually. Moreover, they are deprived of many of the opportunities that the children of other family having a male leader might enjoy. She has been very vital in keeping her family sustained economically as she travels to higher altitude to collect yarsha gumba on yearly basis and has been acting as a head of her family. Even in such a situation of crisis, she has been able to continue with her studies and now have been preparing herself for her life's hardest journey which even those from family with good social and economic standing could not dare.

A girl with good leadership skills, she has made through all odds of her life and now has dreamt to become a sturdy mountaineer, as she is very much acquainted with real life problems, hurdles and challenges and has never learnt to give up.

After her return from the top of the mountain, as a senior sister, she wants to be the light of the way for her siblings and wants them to not undergo the ill-fate that she went through. She also wants to prove to the society that a girl from a family who has lost her father can do any and everything if she shows her commitment for. Continuing with her climbing journey, she wants to scale up Mt Everest if her economic situation allows her and also wants to excel more in her education.

National Expedition

Saraswoti Thapa

Address: Sunikot, Bajhang district

Date of Birth: Nov 20, 1999 (19 yrs)

Education: Higher Secondary Level (+2)

Hobbies and passions: Climbing mountains, English language and networking with international climbers, travelling.

Purpose of Life

To be an agent of social change.

To be a Mountaineer guide

Experience

Mt. Saipal Base Camp (4100 meters) with Mission Saipal team.

Every year, since she was seven years old treks to different places (5,000 + meters) to collect yarsha gumba.

Ms Thapa belongs to a poor family and her parents work in fields round the year, yet could not produce enough even to feed the family members for even six months. The parents have a serious accusation against her. They say, "Our daughter is like a monkey; she could not resist to climb the steep hills and trees. We are afraid if she is dead one day due to her climbing habit." The accusation from her parents itself is a testimony to the mountaineering and adventuring skills of Ms Thapa.

Her parents do not have son but only four daughters. But in Nepali society, couples who could not produce son are mistreated and humiliated. While her only senior sister was married off at the age of 16, one of her younger sisters eloped at the same age. Thapa's parents live with two of her daughters now and the only ray of hope for them is Saraswati, whom they expect to take care of them in their old age and do not even allow the thought of her death. So much was the case that her father was force to marry another lady just to produce a son.

Saraswati is very touched by the social humiliation her parents have suffered for not having a son and her desire to climb Mt Saipal is result of the same. By climbing the mountain, she wants to prove her community people wrong that there is no difference between son and a daughter and daughter can equally achieve everything what son can.

The moment she gets back from the mountain, she wants to see a glow of pride on her parents' face. Her mission also aims to familiarize the courage of far-western girls by summiting the mountain and dreams to climb Mt Everest in the future to tell the world that girls from Nepal's remote village are in no way inferior to anyone, within or beyond Nepal.

International Expedition

Dr. Jorge Egocheaga

Jorge Egocheaga, born 1968 in Oviedo, Asturias, became a Doctor. He is a pediatrician and traumatologist. In the mornings he works in the Hospital of Oviedo in the operating theatre and in the afternoons he works in his personal Sports Clinic trying to help athletes with his never ending injuries. When they arrive in Jorge’s Clinic, they get well. People don’t know what he does, but injuries that had been there for years and no other Doctor could cure, Jorge does.

He works 12 hours a day saving money for his expeditions and social work. He also has sponsors who help him with this. He lost 2 wives in the mountain. He suffers a lot from this but he never tells.

His passion is mountain and climbing and he likes practicing them in his free time. He became the 30st person to summit all 14 eight thousands in the world. He only did this to give the title to her dead wife who was trying to conquer during live. He did this as a honor to her.

His merit is the speed of his personal climbing. He has bit several world records as in Annapurna (Argentina) and many many others. He is characterized for the speed of his climbing, which many other professional climbers admire.

He would love to help women in the Himalayas to recover their dignity and power.

International Expedition

Edurne Pasaban Lizarribar

Edurne Pasaban Lizarribar (born August 1, 1973) is a Spanish mountaineer, from Tolosa, in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Country, Spain. On May 17, 2010, she became the 21st person and the first woman to climb all of the fourteen eight-thousander peaks in the World.[1] Her first 8,000 peak had been achieved 9 years earlier, on May 23, 2001, when she climbed to the summit of Mount Everest.

Alaska Range: multiple expeditions both personal and as guide, with 3 summits of Denali, 4 summits of the Moose's Tooth with 100% client success. Alpine climbs in the areas of Ruth, Pika and Tokositna Glaciers